West Sacramento police investigating mysterious trucker death

Authorities are investigating the death of a trucker who was found under the cab of his truck about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 10, after the tractor crashed into an abutment in an industrial parking lot in West Sacramento.

The victim has been identified as Vitali Dobic, 36, of Rancho Cordova, CA. He is also described as the truck owner and an employee of TC Trucking, 3025 Evergreen in West Sacramento, where the accident occurred.

Lt. Tod Sockman, a spokesman for the West Sacramento police department, said investigators are thus far at a loss to explain the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

“We just know he was at the truck and then he was underneath it,” Sockman told Land Line in a phone interview on Thursday. “It’s just a mystery. It’s sad because he’s a hard worker, he’s a beloved guy there, and he’s a family guy. It just breaks your heart.”

Sockman said police have found surveillance video of the victim walking towards the truck.

When units arrived on scene they found the tractor, which appeared to have crashed through a chain link fence of the business and stopped at the side of I-80, after hitting a dirt berm. Dobic was found pinned under the tractor, which was still running, and pronounced dead on scene. There are no witnesses to indicate what else has happened, and Sockman said, “We haven’t been able to locate anybody else who was with him.”

Sockman said it remains unclear how the man ended up underneath the truck in the first place.

“The truck only moved about 12 feet,” he said. “If he was dragged by the vehicle, it certainly wasn’t very far.”